Commonwealth v. Cook

411 N.E.2d 1326 (1980)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

The victim, age seventeen, went to visit some friends and to see her boyfriend. Her friends were not at home, so she proceeded to the housing project where her boyfriend resided. As she passed the area of the project office, D and his brother Maurice Cook attempted to engage her in conversation. She spurned an invitation to join them and instead walked to her boyfriend's residence. He was not at home. As she passed the office area for the second time, she accepted Ds' renewed invitation to socialize, and she sat with the two brothers on a platform talking for approximately forty-five minutes. Ds smoked marijuana and drank beer but that the victim declined to smoke marihuana because her boyfriend disliked her 'flying high.' She did take a drink of beer. D told her that he and his brother were caring for a nearby home whose occupants were away on vacation. Because the victim was having difficulty remembering their names, D told her that he worked at Smith and Wesson. He also showed her his plant identification card with his picture on it, and his brother informed her of his employer and his address and displayed his driver's license. Maurice indicated that he was out of cigarettes and suggested that the three walk to a convenience store located about a minute and a half away. The victim agreed. They proceeded along the street to a narrow path or trail located behind the project office. This path led down a hill through a wooded area to the rear of a well-lit service station adjacent to the convenience store. The victim slipped. She sat on the ground for a few seconds laughing when 'Maurice turned around and jumped on me . . . and told me I was going to love it.' After she screamed, Maurice covered her mouth with his hand, took off his belt and gave it to D seated nearby. Maurice then scratched her with a stick or blunt object and said, 'No blood, no blood.' D was overheard laughing and saying. 'The bitch doesn't want to bleed, we'll make her bleed.' Maurice then forcibly raped her. She lost consciousness. She awoke about 11:00 P.M. and went directly to her friends' home. Ds were arrested. Maurice was indicted for rape and D, in addition to the conspiracy indictment, was charged as an accessory to the rape. D was convicted and appealed.